Calls forwarded from ATT mobile TO GV number on Obi go straight to GV voicemail

[glnz6]

  
ATT mobile is forwarding my incoming cellphone calls TO my GV number (good), but they go straight to GV voicemail.  Why no ring on my GV phone?  (The GV number is the second number in my Obihai 202, and its connected phone is my old land line phone on my desk.)

It's actually not bad because I want to see the GV voicemail messages for these forwarded incoming ATT calls, but I don't know how this started or how to set my GV or Obihai otherwise.

In other words, if I want the forwarded calls to RING on my GV (Obihai) phone, what GV (or Obihai) setting would I look for to make that happen?

IMPORTANT DETAIL:  Calls made DIRECTLY to my GV number ARE RINGING on the GV (Obihai) phone (good).  Only calls forwarded by ATT mobile to my GV number are going straight to GV voicemail.  And I don't know why.

Thanks.
 

[SteveInWA]

You're attempting to use Google Voice backwards from its design.  It doesn't work that way.

Use your Google Voice number as your single point of contact (give out THAT number).  Link your AT&T phone number as a forwarding phone on your Google Voice settings page.  Finally, enable conditional call forwarding on the AT&T number, so that busy/unanswered calls made to that number will be sent to Google Voice's voicemail.

[glnz6]

  
Dear Steve - Thanks for your prompt reply.  You've given me something to think about, but first some more info --

In fact, this entire setup is for my brother's AT&T iPhone (number starts with 917) and his separate GV (number starts with 212).  And he's traveling abroad now on business so I can't ask him to poke around in his AT&T iPhone settings.

• A bit of history:  I ported his old Verizon land line account at his home (212) into a new GV account for him early last year.  So the old tel number (212) became his GV number.  He uses an Obihai box to connect the 212 GV number to the physical desk phones in his apartment, so the old 212 number rings the same phones in his apartment that it did before the porting.

• I then showed him how to go to his 212 GV account on a Chrome browser to check missed 212 calls.  I probably also suggested that he get the GV app for his AT&T iPhone for the same reason - to check on missed calls to his 212 GV (formerly land line) number.
  

• NOW it gets interesting -- Whenever he leaves on one of his foreign business trips and takes his iPhone with him*, I call AT&T to "immediately forward" all incoming 917 (AT&T) calls to his 212 land line (GV) number so he never gets hit with international voice roaming charges on incoming AT&T 917 calls.  We've been doing this for at least six years, from way before he had any GV.
  (* He has a very unusual iPhone plan that gives him unlimited data worldwide - so from his iPhone he can connect to the internet anywhere for no extra cost -- but not voice, so voice roaming charges would still be an issue.)
  

• Maybe installing the GV app on his 917 iPhone to check those incoming 212 GV calls "linked" his AT&T iPhone (917 number) in some way to his GV number (212)?  Is that what you are describing?
  

At the end of the day, it's not a problem that the incoming calls to 917 go straight to his 212 GV voicemail without ringing the old desk phones in his apartment.  I just wanted to know why it was happening.

What do you think?  Might this be the reason for the issue in my OP above?

Thanks.
 

[SteveInWA]

I don't know why the behavior changed.  Perhaps you or he removed and re-linked the phone as a forwarding number on his GV settings page.  

Google Voice has undergone massive change over the past year and a half.  The entire back end infrastructure has been re-engineered and replaced, with a new focus on VoIP capability.  At the same time, both the website and the mobile app user interfaces have been completely replaced.  Some features that were present in the old system may no longer work, or have been discontinued.  One of the priorities is to "deprecate" or remove features that very few people use, for several reasons:  it reduces complexity and opportunity for failure, it saves time on regression testing every time something changes, and it's less code to maintain and remember how it works.  Some features are also no longer compatible with the new infrastructure.

Blah, blah blah, too much information, I know.  But it provides context.

In this case, there is a setting that is only on the old, "Legacy" Google Voice website, that controls the behavior when you call your own GV number from one of your linked/forwarding phone numbers.  The default for mobile phones is to go directly to GV VM, but you can change it to ring all the linked forwarding destinations (regular PSTN phone numbers, OBiTALK devices and app clients).

See my screenshot below.  Steps:

• If the 917 number is already linked as a forwarding number, delete it on the website:  https://voice.google.com/settings
• Install the official Google Voice app for iOS from the Apple App Store.  Beware of fake apps.
• Open the iOS mobile app and set it up.  Be sure to use the correct Gmail address for the account that holds the GV number.  From the app, go through the steps to add that 917 number as a linked number.
• Go back to the desktop settings page.  Scroll down the left sidebar and click on "Legacy Google Voice".  Then click the gear icon in the upper right corner to get to Settings.  Find the 917 number on the list of linked numbers and click the Edit button.
• Click "Show advanced settings".  On the next page, scroll down to the bottom and change the "Forwarding Options:" to "Ring my other phones before going to voicemail".  Save the settings.

Now, when the 917 number is called, it should first ring the OBiTALK phone(s).  Note that, when he's traveling, it makes more sense to leave set to "Go straight to voicemail".

The best part of this solution?  He can make and receive Google Voice 212 phone calls while abroad (or from anywhere that has a WiFi signal) back to the USA for free, and answer those calls for free.

[glnz6]

  
Steve -- thanks very much for informative reply!

You wrote, "He can make and receive Google Voice 212 phone calls while abroad (or from anywhere that has a WiFi signal) back to the USA for free, and answer those calls for free."

Just want to confirm - that would be "data" for him (no additional charge under his special plan), not "voice" - correct?

If yes, I'll see if he can tolerate playing with this while abroad.  If not, I've bookmarked this post.
 

[SteveInWA]

Correct.  The new VoIP (over any sort of WiFi/4G/Ethernet data connection) calling feature has now rolled out to nearly everyone.  It does not use the carrier's voice service.  However, to avoid costly surprises, it's best to turn off the US mobil carrier service entirely when roaming.